MarketAxess broadens Canadian offering

MarketAxess, the operator
of an electronic trading platform for US and European fixed income instruments,
has received approval to offer its platform in Quebec, Canada.

Having gained
authorisation from the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada,
institutional investors in Quebec are now able to trade US dollar- and
euro-denominated corporate debt, emerging market corporate and sovereign debt
and credit default swaps on MarketAxess.

MarketAxess – which
already operates in Canada via its platform in Ontario – uses request for quote
technology, allowing institutional investors to request executable bids or
offers from multiple broker-dealers, and execute with their dealer of choice.

“Electronic trading can
help investors more easily source fixed income liquidity and improve trade
execution,” said Kevin McPherson, head of sales at MarketAxess. “As the leading
global electronic trading platform for corporate bonds, we’ve seen how
investors benefit from increased transparency and efficiency through electronic
execution. We have also identified significant, quantifiable cost savings when
trading bonds electronically versus the phone.”

The firm’s launch in
Quebec follows the launch of its platform in Brazil earlier this year, where
MarketAxess offers electronic trading of local currency debt.